A power distribution utility strives to provide customers with a reliable power supply and high quality service while maintaining maximum cost efficiency. Disruptions occurring in the power supply due to faults caused by natural hazards or system malfunctions affect the reliability of the system and, consequentially, customer satisfaction.
Distribution systems utilized by electric power utilities generally use a power distribution grid that includes a power source, such as a substation, connected to terminal nodes by power distribution lines. Protective devices, such as fuses or circuit breakers, are strategically placed and designed to operate when a fault in the power distribution grid occurs, in order to minimize the portion of the system that is affected by the resulting power outage. During major storms, utilities track and prioritize power outages, dispatch and coordinate the labor force, and direct system restoration. Information from several different utility information systems is combined and analyzed in order to identify a power outage, determine the location of the fault that caused it, and estimate the number of affected customers. Utilities use automated mapping/facilities management (AM/FM) systems based on geographic information systems (GIS). Integration of GIS-based AM/FM systems with customer information systems (CIS), as well as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, provides an effective environment for an outage management system (OMS).
An OMS is a decision support environment that is used to address complex problems faced by distribution dispatchers and system operators in an emergency situation. In an integrated environment obtained by combining information from GIS-based AM/FM systems, CIS, and SCADA systems, the OMS allows concurrent processing of data from multiple sources. The sources of data include information from customer calls that are received and logged in trouble order tracking (TOT) systems. Automated monitoring sources include power outage monitors or automated meter reading systems that automatically contact a control station after loss of power is identified. An OMS combines the power outage data with data describing distribution network topology and protective device schema derived from GIS coverage maps to determine a probable fault location. Additionally, an OMS processes power outages reported by SCADA alarms or field crew reports called in by radio.
When a power outage is identified, available information is processed to determine the number of customers without power and to determine priorities, in order to help dispatchers optimally dispatch crews. The OMS maintains current information on power outages and provides users with suggestions on the probable causes of the power outages. A geographically referenced full graphic environment acts as an electronic "pin map" to display locations of trouble calls and to determine the causes of power outages. The graphic environment also allows a user to select, query, and update information associated with power outages and trouble calls.
In response to power outage data, the OMS determines the sources and extent gas of faults within the system. A graphic display can illustrate the location of trouble calls, system faults, and the extent of power outages. U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,399, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Power Outage Determination Using Distribution System Information," by Sumic, describes a method for determining the probable location of a fault causing a power outage in a power distribution system. During power outage situations, it is necessary to disseminate information to numerous parties. Customer call representatives, customer service engineers, dispatchers, system engineers, schedulers, work crews, media services, corporate executives, and end users need or desire access to portions of the information. Each party has particular needs or desires with respect to the amount of information it receives. Additionally, a power utility may desire restrictions on the information that each party is permitted to receive.
It is therefore desirable to have an automated system for disseminating power outage information to various parties. Preferably, such a system will store or determine data specifying the information desired by each party, as well as the restriction requirements pertaining to each party. Preferably, such a system will automatically provide information to each party and will update the information promptly. A preferable system will provide interested parties with a choice of whether updated information is to be automatically displayed on their respective computer monitors, or is to be stored until the party requests updated information. The present invention is directed to providing such a mechanism.